Bolt and wedge assembly



Oct. 7, 1941. M. E. KEMPER- 2,257,962

BOLT AND WEDGE ASSEMBLY Filed June 21, 194c INVENTOR, Mew/e ff A e e/nsyw yw.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 7, 1941 g Claims. (01. 85-8) This invention 'relates toimprovements in bolt and wedge assemblies, and particularly; to aboltand wedge assembly suitable for "fitting-up purposes; I i

' Instructural steel fabrication, and many other types of structural work, -it*is common practice to use a-fitting-up device forpositioning-the various members to facilitate Q-the positioning of thebolts or rivets used as permanent fastening means.

Itis an object of the present invention to provide a bolt and wedgeassembly adapted to function to fit together members-having any combinedthickness between pa predetermined minimum and maximum-.-- 7 a A furtherobjectfis the provision ofa bolt and wedge assembly of simple andinexpensive structure that may be quickly and easily operated to fittogether members that are to be permanently secured together by means ofother fasteners.

Reference will now be had tothe drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a partially sectional view of a bolt and wedge in positionon work, embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11. of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a central cross sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig.1, the bolt itself being shown in elevation.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a modified form of the bolt; and,

Fig. 5 is a further modified form of the bolt.

Throughout the several views, like reference characters refer to similarparts and the numeral l0 designates a bolt having a body portion l2 anda head l4.

For convenience of positioning the bolt [0 into openings l6 and I8,formed through structural members and 22 respectively, the outer endthereof is made conical in form as at 24. The outer end of the bolt maybe of any other reduced form suitable for engaging and registering holeswhich are relatively offset in members to be joined together.

The bolt in is similarly notched at its opposite sides at 26, in such amanner that the inside walls 28 thereof, are substantially parallel. Thenotches 26 are formed to present opposed v-shaped ledges 30 disposedtransversely of the bolt and having their apices or vertexes 32 disposedin a common line passing through the axis of the bolt.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that the tapered side walls 34 ofthe ledges are so angled acute angle with the'plane of said inside faceTh to the axis of tnebelt teat me sedge. at

be 'ea sily inserted and theta will rest a a nst the vertex of the ledgeduring the; fittingup operation. The inner face of head M of the bolt isformed to presenta bearing .edge 3 8, whi'ch is in the plane common tothe vertekesof [said ledges. The principal object of positionin'g'thebearing points 'in a commonplaneisto set up a central pull on, the bolt,regardless jof tlie relative relation of .theopenings'in the membersbeing fitted together. 'Wedge 36 has an inside "face .40 disposed in aplane adapted to 'be"norn ially disposedf-at a right angle to the axisof the" bolt a'ndanfout side surface '42 disposed in a plane forming anwedgeis'provided with a'head llhaving" 'an outwardly overhanging ledge46 which facilitates easy removal of the wedge from the bolt.

A recess or cavity 48 formed inwardly from the inside face of the wedgeis of a dimension sufficient to permit the entrance of the body of thebolt therein. The wedge 36 is bifurcated inwardly from its thin edge andis provided at its outer surface with spaced apart, opposed ribs 58,which are adapted to be inserted into notches 26 to engage ledges 30,whereby the members positioned on the bolt between the head thereof andthe wedge may be drawn together.

It will be noted that the thickness of ribs 50 is slightly less than thesmaller width of the notches so that the rib will pass through saidnotches at any desired angle.

It is one of the important features of this invention to provide anotched bolt and an adjustable wedge of such proportions that thedistance between the bolt and wedge may be adjusted to any desiredposition, between a predetermined minimum and maximum. This is obtainedby making the effective lift of the wedge greater than the distancebetween like points of adjacent notches in the bolt. This relativerelation of the various dimensions is made possible by the recessing ofthe wedge so that the bolt may enter therein as the ribs 50 arepositioned in the respective notches to draw the structural partstogether. The length and angle of the wedge may be varied to obtaingreater or lesser pulling action of the wedge, also the distance betweenthe notches in the bolt may be varied to meet special conditions.

The modified form shown in Fig. 4, comprises a headless bolt having itsopposite ends 62 and 64 tapered and provided at its body portion withnotches and ledges similar to those shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, but withadjacent notches of the two series disposed at right angles to eachother. This type of bolt is especially suited to be used where twochannels, positioned back to back and at an angle to each other, are tobe joined together. Two wedges are intended to be used with this bolt,one at each side of the work. When using this bolt, the angle of thewedges may be reduced and the one most accessible to the workman, may bedriven into the notches to make the final draw.

The form of bolt shown in Fig. 5 is similar to that shown in Fig.4, withthe exception that all the notches are positioned in like manner.Furthermore, the bolt may be of any desired length with notches at eachend portion for special use in concrete construction forms where thebolts are to be withdrawn from the concrete structure when the forms areto be removed.

In the use of this assembly for fitting together members, the bolt isfirst positioned in the corresponding holes of two or more structuralmembers, then the wedge is placed in the notches and driven therein todraw the members together. If this first draw does not properly positionthe parts, then the wedge may be withdrawn and inserted'in the notchexposed nearest the outside structural member and again driven intoposition todraw the members together. This operation may be repeated asufiicient number of times to fit the structural members together.During the changing 'of the Wedge from one notch tovanother, it may benecessary to hold the structural members against relative movement bysome outside means.

, Having thus describedthe invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A bolt and wedge assembly comprising a bolt having a head having aV-shaped inner face with the apex thereof on a line intersecting theaxis of said bolt; and having notches formed in the opposite sides ofthe body of the bolt to form two similar series of V-shaped ledges withapices thereof disposed parallel with the apex of the under face of saidhead; and a bifurcated wedge recessed on its inner side to receive saidbolt and spaced apart parallel ribs of substantially uniform thicknessadapted to respectively operate against the apices of correspondingledges at opposite sides of said bolt whereby any distance between apredetermined maximum and minimum may be obtained between the head ofthe bolt and the inner face of said wedge.

2. A bolt and wedge assembly comprising a bolt having a head having aV-shaped inner face with the apex thereof on a line passing through theaxis of said bolt and having notches formed in the opposite sides of thebody of the bolt to formtwo similar series of V-shaped ledges, havingtheir apices in a common plane determined by the axis of said bolt andthe apex of said inner bolt head face; and a bifurcated wedge recessedon its inner side to receive said bolt and having spaced apart parallelribs of substantially uniformthickness adapted to respectively operateagainst the apices only of corresponding ledges at opposite sides ofsaid bolt whereby any distance between a predetermined maximum andminimum may be obtained between the head of the bolt and theinner faceof said wedge.

.- MERLE E. KEMPER.

